How to Sell Gift Cards Online in 2026 (Small Business Guide)
Gift cards bring in money today for something you deliver later, and they introduce your business to people who receive them as presents. Selling them online is mostly simple, but the details matter: unique codes, clear terms, the expiry and fee rules, and a record of every balance.
Quick answer
To sell gift cards online, offer a few set values, design a certificate that shows the value, a unique code and your terms, and sell it from a page connected to your own payment account. Deliver the card by email, record every code and balance, and follow your local rules; in the US, federal law generally bars gift card funds from expiring within five years.
1. Decide the values and what the card covers
Offer three or four set amounts, such as $25, $50 and $100, so buyers can choose quickly, and consider one that matches a popular product or service. Decide what the card can be spent on: everything you sell, only services, or online and in person. If you sell experiences, such as a class or a treatment, you can also offer a card for that named service, but state what happens if the price later changes.
2. Know the expiry and fee rules first
In the US, the Credit CARD Act rules in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.20) cover store gift cards, including codes sent by email. The money on a card generally can't expire sooner than five years after it was issued or last loaded. Inactivity or service fees are only allowed after 12 months without use, no more than one per month, and must be disclosed. Some states go further; California, for example, bans expiry dates on most gift certificates. Rules vary by state and country, so check yours.
3. Put clear terms on the card itself
Under the federal rule, expiry and fee terms must be disclosed before purchase and shown on the card or certificate itself, not only on a separate page. Put the essentials on the design: the value, the code, the expiry date or the words 'no expiry', any fees, and how to redeem. The rule also expects a toll-free number, and your website if you have one, for fee and replacement questions. Add whether partial use leaves a balance and what happens if the card is lost.
4. Design the certificate file
Make the certificate a one-page PDF at a standard size such as US Letter or A4, or a landscape card shape that reads well on a phone. Include your logo, the value, a line for the recipient's name, a code field, the expiry statement, short terms and redemption steps. Export one version per value. Keep the text large, because many recipients will simply show the email at the counter. Use only images you own or have a license for; your own product photos usually work best.
5. Set up a page and take payment
List each value as its own product. On OneSol you can sell these from your free page at onesol.io/yourname as digital products, and the buyer receives the certificate file instantly after paying. Payments run through your own Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay or Square account; selling with your own processor is on Pro. Link a short form for the recipient's name, a personal message and a send date; respondents don't need to sign in.
6. Give every card a unique code
Every card needs a code nobody can guess, such as eight random letters and numbers, never a running number like GC001. Generate a batch in a spreadsheet before you launch, and leave out characters that are easy to confuse, like O and 0 or I and 1. In practice, deliver the certificate instantly, then email the buyer their unique code the same day and record which code went to which order. If they chose a later date, send it to the recipient then.
7. Track balances and redeem cards
Keep one ledger with the code, value, buyer, date sold, date used and remaining balance. When someone redeems, look up the code, check it is still valid, apply the amount and update the balance straight away. Partial use should leave a balance the holder can spend later. Money from gift card sales is for goods or services you still owe, so don't treat it as spare cash; an accountant can tell you how to record it and how sales tax applies where you are.
8. Prevent fraud and fix common problems
The FTC warns that only scammers tell people to pay with gift cards, so add a line to your page saying you will never ask anyone to pay a bill with your cards, and be cautious with sudden large orders. Common problems have simple fixes. The email went to spam, so ask buyers to check and resend it. A code “doesn't work” because of a typo, which removing look-alike characters prevents. A code is used twice, which a ledger updated at every redemption stops.
9. Promote gift cards before gift-giving dates
Remind customers about gift cards ahead of holidays, birthdays and occasions in your niche. Add the link to your social bio, email list and receipts. For a shop or studio, print a QR code from onesol.io/qr-code-generator next to the till so customers can buy on their phone while they wait. Free promotional cards are treated differently under the federal rule, so label them clearly as promotional and show their expiry date on the front.
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FAQ
Do I need special software to sell gift cards?
No. A product page connected to your own payment account, a designed certificate file and a spreadsheet of unique codes are enough for most small businesses. OneSol lets you sell the certificate as a digital product with instant delivery.
Can gift cards expire?
In the US, federal rules generally stop gift card funds from expiring sooner than five years after the card was issued or last loaded, and some states, such as California, ban most expiry dates. Rules vary by state and country, so check your local law.
Can I charge fees on a gift card?
Under US federal rules, inactivity or service fees are only allowed after 12 months without use, at most one per month, and they must be disclosed on the card.
How do customers redeem a digital gift card?
They show or enter the unique code at checkout, at the counter or when booking. You look the code up in your ledger, apply the amount and record the remaining balance so it can be used next time.
What does it cost to sell gift cards online?
You pay your payment processor's fee on each sale; Stripe's standard US rate for domestic cards is 2.9% plus 30 cents. On OneSol, selling through your own processor is part of the Pro plan.
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